One such campaign, Smoking Not Our Future, was launched in 2006 and featured young celebrities talking negatively about smoking.

A survey done as part of an evaluation of the campaign in 2008 showed 74 per cent of the teenage respondents agreed the ads made smoking seem "less cool".

"A big concern is that with reduced mass media campaigns, goals like reducing youth smoking and larger targets, including the Government's goal of a smokefree New Zealand by 2025, becomes that much more difficult," Youdan said.

The biggest drops in youth smoking were in 2000 and 2010, when the government introduced significant tobacco tax increases.

In February, the Government confirmed plans to introduce plain packaging for tobacco products but would wait for legal action over similar moves in Australia to be completed.

Results of an international study released last year showed plain packaging reduced the appeal of smoking for youth and young adults.